Greta finds her forever home

Greta has found a forever home!! I don’t have many details but I do know that she has found a home where there are children to play with and people home a lot. She loves it and they love her. So, a happy ending for her. She deserves it!

Last weekend we had a mini reunion of Greta’s pups – 4 of the 5 were in attendance at the Petco puppy playtime I host. The interesting thing was, after the initial happy tail wagging greetings, the four of them fought like madmen!! We literally spent the entire hour pulling little bully puppies off of their sisters and brother. And it wasn’t like there was one who was trouble. It seemed like all of them have learned to “play” that way. I gave it some serious thought and came to the conclusion that their time in my puppy room confined their movements, and Greta’s young age caused her to react like a peer rather than a parent, so they had no choice and weren’t discouraged from acting out their urges to practice social dominance.

Puppies first day outsideMost of my litters have been in the summer where the group spends the majority of the time outside, in a big fenced space with trees and rocks to hide in. They can romp and run if they want, or wrestle, or just get away from the group. But stuck inside in one room, with a mama who not only allowed the fighting but participated in it created a little group of monsters!! The funny thing was, they reacted with submission to puppies not of their group. And one little dog helped the group realize there were other ways to play. She taught them that running and chasing was a game worth participating in. So it seems, Greta’s group has some learning to do – they need to learn other methods of interacting and playing that don’t involve fighting and wrestling.

Greta’s puppies outside for the first time

Today the pups had their first foray into the wild outside world. I timed it correctly because they were curious and happy about being out there. When I put pups out and they aren’t ready, they all stand in a bunch and cry pitifully. But today then sniffed around and chewed on leaves and generally had a good time. I got a bunch of good photographs that will be going up on Petfinder. They are 4 1/2 weeks old and we’ll have them less than one more month. This time will fly by. I’ve really enjoyed this group and will miss them when they go.

Puppies first day outside

Puppies first day outside

Puppies first day outside

 

Puppies first day outside

Puppies first day outside

Puppies first day outside

 

Greta seems to have enough of mothering

The pups are huge and very advanced! Which is good as Greta seems to have had enough of mothering. I had her outside with me the entire morning (nearly 5 hours) and not once did she seem stressed about being away from her puppies. She ran around joyfully, sniffing and exploring. She tired to get Hermes to play by body slamming into him, but he wasn’t as into being outside as she was. She seemed to thoroughly enjoy herself. In fact, when I returned her to the puppy room I expected her to be happy to see her pups as she hadn’t nursed them at all. However, when I went back into the room a bit later she still hadn’t nursed them! That was at least 7 hours without nursing! And her teats were really taught…I had to rather forcefully “encourage” her to nurse them. Now that she has, she is scratching on the door, desperate to get out again! I think Greta has had enough of mothering.

Greta’s puppies are growing

growing pups 1The puppies are really growing. In just the last two days they have begun to play. Prior to this, their days included eating and sleeping. That was it except for an occasional crawl around to get comfortable. Now after eating they spend about 10 minutes wrestling and playing with each other. There are also a lot of tail wags. Dogs wag their tails as a social cue, now that they are interacting it makes sense that this behavior is beginning to surface.

growing pups 2I’ve also begun to introduce food to them, first formula and now moistened kibble. They have the hang of the formula, but they cry and basically freak out when the kibble is in the bowl. I think I’ve mentioned how overly vocal (and dramatic) this group is, so any change, anything new, they really react to. Just imagine how they’ll be the first time I take them outside!

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Pups at play video

Spring is here and the pups got to play in the BIG kids yard with my dogs, Hermes and Bella and our friend Abby (who is Willow‘s daughter). They had a blast and were tearing around for nearly an hour.

[flashvideo file=http://caninefostering.com/images/pups032910.flv /]

March 30, 2010 • Tags: , , , , , , • Posted in: Bella, Hermes, pups, video, Willow • 1 Comment

Baby moose video

Here is a video someone shot of a moose family romping round the sprinkler in their back yard!

Link to “baby moose” video.

March 25, 2010 • Tags: , , • Posted in: other animals • 2 Comments